Day: October 14, 2008

Random Thoughts

Once again I took more notes than I had posts so I thought I would let all see what I found in the news that did not make it to a post.

1–Wall Street got more in bonsuses in 2007 than Africa got aid.

2–Bet McCain is glad that Obama did not take him up on the 10 townhall meeting things, since McCain did not look so good in the debate thing.

3–AIG to rethink another executive thing in a swank hotel since they got caught in the 400,000 dollars thing after the bailout…..a wise choice on their part.

4–McCain will “protect the American worker”…now I missed that email…I have heard nothing from his mouth that even remotely sounds like protection for the working class.

5–I am an old fart, but I realize that the internet sees all and knows all.  Why do I mention this?  Maybe someone should tell the McCain camp that…..he is constantly being contradicted by himself…..

6–You wanna good chuckle?  Watch the newest Morgan Stanley ad on TV where they say the company is “world wise”…..cannot stop laughing at that…from a company that refused to see the future biting them in the ass…..enough for me to keep my cash where it is……

Eco-Friendly Living

Believe it or not, condominiums may be some of the most environmentally responsible housing out there today, especially since more and more developers are paying attention to sustainability from the get-go.

By their very nature, many condo complexes adhere to some of the most basic tenets of green housing: density, to maximize surrounding open space and minimize buildings’ physical and operational footprints; proximity to mass transit, given their typical location in urban areas; and reduced resource use per unit, thanks to shared systems, walls and common spaces. Builders can elect to layer on other green elements, such as high-efficiency appliances and HVAC systems, green roofs and organic landscaping.
But not all developers need to break the bank to go green on their condo and apartment projects. Two-thirds of the units in Harlem’s much-publicized 1400 Fifth Avenue building—touted as New York’s first green condominium, are considered affordable, priced at $50,000 to $104,000 and restricted to families of moderate income. Also in the New York metropolitan area, Habitat for Humanity recently announced it has assembled a green design team to build “real affordable condos” in New Rochelle and other parts of Westchester County

Pick A Plan And Stick With It

As he struggles to convince voters he is the best candidate to handle the economy, John McCain is considering whether to issue a new set of economic proposals, possibly including lower taxes on dividends and capital gains.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of McCain’s closest allies, said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that the Arizona senator was weighing a plan “along the lines that now is the time to lower tax rates for investors — capital gains tax, dividend tax rates — to make sure that we can get the economy jump-started.”

McCain has said previously that he would maintain the 15% tax rates on dividends and capital gains. Aides cautioned Sunday that, while discussions were underway, McCain was weighing many options and had not settled on any specific new proposals.

Graham said the campaign would discuss a plan Sunday, and he expected McCain to offer “a very comprehensive approach to jump-start the economy by allowing capital to be formed easier in America by lowering taxes.”

The economic crisis has created an extraordinarily difficult environment for McCain; he is trying to succeed a Republican president with very low approval ratings at a time when most voters believe the nation is on the wrong track. McCain on Wednesday has a final prime-time opportunity to outline his economic proposals during his final debate with Barack Obama; he promised volunteers Sunday he would “whip his you know what in this debate.”
There was also little attention paid to a McCain proposal this week to protect seniors by suspending a rule that requires them to begin selling off their retirement assets when they reach the age of 70 1/2 , which is onerous “at a time when the market is hurting the most,” McCain said. The Obama campaign expressed support for that proposal and called on Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson to act on it.

A potential reduction in the capital gains and dividends tax rates would build on McCain’s already robust plans for tax cuts. He has proposed lowering the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%, and would target middle-class families by doubling the exemption for dependents from $3,500 to $7,000 while phasing out the Alternative Minimum Tax.

Once an opponent of Bush’s tax cuts, McCain now says he would make them permanent.

Obama would keep the corporate tax rate at 35% and raise the highest tax rate on dividends and capital gains from 15% to 20%. He would raise taxes on American families making more than $250,000 a year while offering tax cuts for everyone under that threshold.

May I suggest if one wants the people to have confidence in one’s leadership, then possibly pick an economic plan and stick with it.

Why Obama’s Health Plan Is The Better

Barack Obama and Republican candidate John McCain have been going head to head on the topic of health care for months upon months now.

One thing is beginning to grow very clear though, and it is that Obama has a more clear-cut, focused plan to fix health care over the long-run.

Under the McCain health plan, health benefits are going to be taxed.  He wants to get rid of tax breaks for employer-sponsored health care, and instead give tax credits to people.

Individuals are going to be receiving $2,500 tax credits, while families willl get $5,000.

Obama has attacked this time and time again, mainly due to the fact that health insurance is usually much higher than those tax credits in terms of cost.

The Obama plan focused more on employer-based health insurance.  He wants medium and large companies to either provide health care coverage, or to pay to help give health care coverage to the uninsured.

Studies have shown that over the long run, the Obama plan appears to be far superior.

We will just have to wait for Nov. 4th to see who believes who……with the economy in the crapper…health care may not be as important as it was 6 months ago to the voter.

Who’s Fat, Who’s Not

The survey, F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America, 2008, showed that there’s a growing obesity epidemic in the U.S. They found that today more than 20 percent of adults are obese in every state except Colorado, where the number is 18.4 percent. More than 25 percent of adults are obese in 28 states, up from 19 states last year. In 1991 no state had an obesity rate above 20 percent.

The five fattest states and their obesity rates are:
Mississippi (31.7 percent)
West Virginia (30.6 percent)
Alabama (30.1 percent)
Louisiana (29.5 percent)
South Carolina (29.2 percent)

The five slimmest states and their obesity rates are:
Colorado (18.4 percent)
Hawaii (20.7 percent)
Connecticut (20.8 percent)
Massachusetts (20.9 percent)
Vermont (21.1 percent)

Is it just me or does the states with the fattest people also have the least amount of education?

McCain Talks To Veterans

In the first presidential debate, Sept. 27, John McCain professed love for veterans and insisted, “They know I’ll take care of them.” But his record is making many veterans doubt the basis for that claim.

Some veterans’ groups have expressed strong criticisms of McCain’s voting record on funding for veterans medical care. In its most recent legislative ratings, for example, the Disabled American Veterans gave McCain a 20 percent rating for his voting record on veterans’ issues.

Also, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America gave McCain a “D” grade for his poor voting record on veterans’ issues, including McCain’s votes against additional body armor for troops in combat and additional funding for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury screening and treatment.
Veterans’ groups have concluded that McCain has voted at least 28 times against veterans’ benefits since arriving in the Senate in 1987. Those votes tried or succeeding in to blocking important benefits for America’s veterans.

In 1991, after the close of the Persian Gulf War, John McCain voted against providing automatic annual cost-of-living adjustments for certain veterans’ benefits. Four years later, McCain supported an appropriations bill that underfunded the Departments of Veterans Affairs and other federal agencies by $8.9 billion. The following year, McCain voted against an amendment to increase spending on veterans programs by $13 billion.
Between 1999 and 2001, McCain stood against appropriations bills that provided regular annual increases in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs. And in 2003, after the US had been at war in Afghanistan for more than a year, McCain stood up again to providing additional funding for the VA. This was his maverick move.

In 2005, when it became clear that US troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan were suffering unprecedented cases of PTSD, McCain voted against an amendment to appropriate $500 million annually from 2006-2010 for counseling, mental health and rehabilitation services for veterans diagnosed with mental illness, PTSD or substance abuse.

This year, John McCain opposed the 21st Century GI Bill, and failed to vote on the final passage of the measure in favor of attending a Republican Party fundraiser in California. Since its passage, despite Mccain’s opposition, the new GI Bill has begun to provide better educational opportunities to veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, paying full tuition at in-state schools and living expenses for those who have served at least three years in the service since the 9/11 attacks. McCain said he opposed the bill because, as he told one FOX News program, he thought the benefits were too generous.

Sorry sports fans, but a REAL American hero would not be treating Vets with such disdain.